Although
he's led a half-dozen SFSU travel abroad tours to the Philippines in
the past, Danilo Begonia, an Asian American Studies
professor, said his recent three-week trip was unlike any others.

This time
it was a largely student-inspired trip made possible through the work
of P.A.C.E., the Philippine American Collegiate Endeavor.

"These were highly motivated students who wanted to know about
their homeland, its history and what it is like there today," said
Begonia. "The students really made it happen and made it a success."

As soon as she heard about the trip, Sheryline Fastidio, a senior business
major, started planning. The journey was important, she said, because
it enabled students to learn and rediscover their roots and Filipino
heritage.

"I gained greater awareness and learned to appreciate more of the
Filipino culture," she said. "The trip not only helped me gain
experience and knowledge of the Philippines but it also help me discover
myself."

Fastidio was one of eight Filipino American students -- including one
from City College of San Francisco -- who traveled with Begonia through
the main island of Luzon from Manila to Pagsanjan.

Visitors are often awed by the beauty of the country and its 7,000 islands
but the poverty of the Philippines' 85 million people is equally stunning.

"You have to prepare people for what they will see because it will
break your heart. The poverty is absolutely grinding," Begonia said.

While in Manila, Begonia and his students witnessed an attempted military
coup, an incident that provoked discussion about the country's economic
and political conditions.

The most moving part of the trip came during a visit to an area known
as Payatas in Quezon City near Manila. The shantytown is beside a mountain
of garbage several stories high. The dumpsite, nicknamed the Promised
Land, is home to about 80,000 people who climb the mountain daily to
scavenge for items they recycle for cash. Three years ago the dumpsite
was the site of a massive avalanche of garbage that killed nearly 200
people.

Before leaving the Philippines, each student donated a suitcase filled
with clothes for the Promised Land residents.

"We couldn't give the clothes to them personally because the government
had called it a 'restricted area.' But we were assured by the community
leaders that the people would get them," Begonia said.

He
hopes the trip served as a memorable lesson for students.

"This makes history come alive and gives students a different perspective
and perhaps a new found pride as well," Begonia said.